Twisted Metal Review - PS3

Game Description: From the creator of Twisted Metal and God of War, Twisted Metal is back only on the PlayStation 3 system. Developed by the original team credited with carving out a new gaming genre, Eat Sleep Play, founded by David Jaffe and Scott Campbell, unleashes Twisted Metal onto the PS3 with a devilishly pure experience and a whole new look that is deeper, and madder than ever before.

Twisted Metal Review

It's a fiery blast from the past as Sweet Tooth and the gang return for more vehicular homicide. The Twisted Metal tournament goes online and off this time around, complete with plenty of cars, arenas, and creepy heavy metal vibes.

The Pros

Creative modes and interesting character design

Strong multiplayer

Well-designed arenas and nice array of vehicles

The Cons

Pinball physics and extremely old-school design add frustration

Single-player mode is lackluster

Controls can be problematic and certain level and design elements are poorly executed

Unspectacular graphics

Twisted Metal Review:

After a long sabbatical, one of Sony’s most nostalgic franchises is back. Twisted Metal will be instantly familiar to the legion of gamers who spent hours orchestrating vehicular mayhem on their PSOnes. As it turns out, after so many years, very little has changed. Twisted Metal is a game that unabashedly services those old school gamers with its retro, arcade action, but it also unintentionally proves just how far action games in general and driving games in specific have come.

Anyone Still have a Sweet Tooth?

Although there are plenty of familiar faces (and vehicles) in this latest iteration of the vile Calypso’s carnival of death, Twisted Metal’s single-player focus starts entirely on Sweet Tooth. The campaign shows off the story of this twisted, psycho-killing freak of nature through schlocky, Grade-Z horror movie vignettes. The killer clown recounts his origin and need to find the “one that got away”.

In this case, that means track down one poor girl who escaped from his first, family-killing rampage, so that he can kill her. It’s not exactly a heart-warming tale, but fans of bad slasher flicks will likely get a kick out of the anti-hero focus. For those not obsessed with being a psycho, however, Sweet Tooth isn’t a particularly interesting or engaging character to be, but as the game progresses things expand a bit.

More to the point, while the creepy cinematics add a little window dressing to the presentation, the actual characters are irrelevant. The game is all about the cars, which are no longer locked to a specific driver. Players can choose three different vehicles in most matches, which can be swapped out in the garage found on each map. Since cars don’t automatically regenerate health, the game can become a race to either find health power-ups or get to the garage before exploding.

Each vehicle has its own signature move, which recharges after use, and a pre-selected main gun. Beyond that, it’s a free-for-all to pick up weapon power-ups. Racing around the huge, usually open arenas looking for things to blow up, while stocking up on a variety of missiles, mines, and other explosive goodies is usually an entertaining, if old school endeavor.

Pinball Driving

The problems come into play when dealing with the over-the-top physics that make the cars seem like lead-weight pinballs. The game has an annoying tendency to throw cars up into the air for almost any reason, and the physic effects feel too unreliable and unnecessarily obnoxious. Another noticeable problem is while the focus is clearly on combat, the driving, in contrast, feels outright simplistic.

This shortcoming is especially apparent during the ill-conceived racing events in the single-player game. Early on, the competitors are racing down a treacherous mountain road to make first place, because otherwise it’s instant death. The event is an exercise in frustration thanks to the mix of sloppy, intrusive physics and underwhelming driving mechanics.

Thankfully, most events focus squarely on just blowing everyone else up, and Twisted Metal fares much better when it sets its sights on basic destruction. Health bars over each car easily inform their status, and the mini-map lets players keep track of the competition. Each level has tons of destructible elements as well, though it’s remarkably uneven about what can and can’t be destroyed.

The levels each offer a different setting, and most are very creative. The death-trap filled indoor arena, for instance, tasks players with willfully going through swinging spikes to acquire power-ups. The cage match is a nice twist on deathmatch, since it requires players to stay within a specific (and moving) area of the map. On the downside, ice is handled horribly—it makes the cars virtually uncontrollable.

Murder with Friends

While the single-player game does a good job of bringing out all the flaws in the game’s design, the multiplayer goes a long way to helping Twisted Metal gain ground. This was clearly meant to be a multiplayer game and while the combat and controls aren’t as nearly as refined as Rage’s car combat, the potential for destruction is far more expansive.

Supporting up to 16 players online, and even sporting two and four-way split screen action, Twisted Metal is the only game in town for widespread vehicular homicide. The levels are diverse and filled with things to discover, the 13 or so cars accommodate virtually any play style, and the game modes range from the traditional free-for-all and team deathmatches to nuke, which tasks teams with capturing the opposing leader, dragging him back and launching him in a missile.

All this destruction is brought to life with an engine that feels serviceable, if not exceptional. Twisted Metal is decent looking, but hardly impressive. The score is a variety of heavy metal tracks, the effects are excellent, and the voice work is decent.

A 1990’s Heavy Metal Party

Twisted Metal is a hard sell for those in search of a well-rounded driving game. The game play and physics feel almost as if they were ripped from the original PSOne game, and the genre has come a long way since then. While the single-player game is weak, the multiplayer is mostly fun and creative. It’s disappointing that after such a long wait, the game didn’t evolve more, but fans of the original are certain to enjoy this blast from the past.

Comments are Closed

I just broke my older 600 buck ps3 playing this game for 15 hours in a row. I brought my system to my friends house he got the game out and i trashed the system. I have a ps3 slim on the way i cant wait to play more twisted metal on line. I really hate to say it tho I think this games even better than skyrim and im a huge the elder scrolls fan . I am hooked on twisted metal the game is so much fun do not listen to them 360 fanboys or the rating of this site. The people give it a high score and other sites give it a high score. I like this site a lot and most always they get it write this time they are so wrong.

Well well well, if it isn't Bloodthr0e and the Sony crowd crying their little eyes out. Didn't you praise the G4TV reviews for being so objective and true without even having played the game for yourself? Oh wait, that was Resident Evil: Revelations, a Nintendo exclusive, it was obviously ok to rate it poorly and well deserved. Well, I haven't played THIS game, but I really really think this review is super plausibel and objective and I wholeheartedly agree with everything Jason wrote. Hypocrites.

Well. I have to completely agree to the promises made by Sony PlayStation.. I played twisted metal 1 when I was a kid. This one is simply stunning. The graphics, real-time action scenes & controls are just perfect.. In maddening series of this game, this is the eighth episode of Twisted Metal. It's getting crazier by the installment. The initial plan of releasing the game in October 2011 was rescheduled to mid February 2012.

I am satisfied with this game.. and feel its simply a good game to play with your friends or family. The storyline is precise and clear and my favorite is Sweet Tooth ( I never knew why it was rated M)..The car combat multiplayer, Calypso's Tournament, Sweet Tooth's Custom shop is all that you would want to get away with. The game has everything that can get you hooked to this fierce combat.

PlayStation has successfully added fuel to the fire by deciding to launch the mother of all destructive road rage video games. The aim, obliterate fellow road users. What you can't do in reality, beat the hell out of the guy who cut in front of you on road, it will give you a chance to exact your revenge. Mad Max on steroids style! Another thing that I realized is that this game transforms into an effective Hollywood action flick with 3Dfx card. The madness gets more realistic with superb detailing and high resolution.

The latest installment of Twisted Metal is a delight for you if you have played the previous versions.

The game may get little monotonous for single players, but when you lock horns with your friends, it's a totally different battle. The focus on destruction is complete and the entertainment is hair-raising. Get ready to buckle up by 14th Feb, coz that's when this game will hit the roads!

You can even get a clear picture about Twisted Metal from the official website & do read my views there:

TROLOLOL... man gotta love the retarded trash that comment on xplay pages... every damn review is the same thing... stupid fanboys get upset that their games are being bashed for reasons that they overlooked because they were blinded by their love for the franchise... then they say stupid crap like "I lost all respect for this site" or my personal favourite "Thats why everyone is going to gamespot for their reviews" LOOOL... Then go tards.... if u dont like xplay then just leave... stop watching their show and stop visiting the site... its not hurting them at all... just go... no need to leave a damn comment about it... just GO!!!!!

Adam, don't do a soap box on this. PLEASE don't do a soap box on this. I get it, it's the reviewer's opinion. Gamerz care too much and are too defensive over trivial things while more important world issues rage on. [insert dostoesvky quote here]. You're great man, that's why you should just skip all this. How bout the possible trend of Japanese companies finally integrating stable American gameplay mechanics and focused story telling with their amazing settings and a few dramatic flares to aforementioned gameplay mechanics. Such examples being Binary Domain (as far as gameplay is concerned), Vanquish (well, again, gameplay), silent hill 5 ( focused story), Devil may cry ( seems to be a seemless blend of all the best parts...hopefully). Something like that. PLEASE!

How is it that all the mature, honest opinions of the game get a thumbs down and all the comments directed towards Jason D'Aprile and beating the sh-t out of him get all these thumbs up? It is just a disgrace. BRING ON THE THUMBS DOWN!!!

i have no respect for this website, or show... its plain to see that this is diehard xbox country ever since they visited microsoft its bn this way .. i remember when adam did a review of uncharted 3 and got killed for givn it a 4 outta 5 well this is why about a month b4 it on x-play he had already determined uncharted was gonna get lost in the mix with all the great games comn out so he has already made his mind up.. i GUARENTEE if twisted metal came out on xbox adam would have bn drooling sayn 'Car combat is back i give it a 5 outta 5" i highly reccomend everyone go to another non biased website like ign .. all other websites gave positive reviews for this game.. well all i can say is g4 should just review the few exclusive games a year that microsoft puts out like master cheif (total rip off of doom character) and the fat guys in gears... by the way g4 when is the annual microsoft g4 picnic??

Twisted Metal is a car combat genre, not a racer. The reviewer seems to be comparing this to racing games, you cant compare a genre that has vehicles with weapons blowing each other up to one that vehicles just go around a track to win a race. This is the reason why you cant trust experts when it comes to gaming & even movies, because they have their own set thoughts on something. The consumer (gamers & movie goers) are the one's to truly judge if something good or not, not the proclaimed reviewers.

your entitled to your opinion but most of your points i dont agree with. the controls are hard but when you master them its alot of fun. i would give this game a 5 out of 5 in my book i love it. the only thing i don't like is the limited single player. 3 campaigns with 5-6 levels just isn't enough. (ok maybe 4.5 out of 5 :D ) but i still think its great

ign take note this is no way in hell a 9 this score is rite on am thinking of giving the game in first off there are only 3 people to the story wack the ai computer is on u like flies on poo and the controls omg the online game are almost packed and u can't join

" The game play and physics feel almost as if they were ripped from the original PSOne game,"

I'm not going to bash the overall review since you're entitled to your opinion even if I disagree, but the above statement is just plain wrong. Either you never played the original TM or it has been waaaaaaaay too long since you did. The original game is drastically different than the games that followed.

I am no Sony or Twisted Metal fanboy... But this reviewer is just dumb.

Clearly he doesn't understand that there's REASON for the driving mechanics to be unrealistic. Would you honestly want to play a car combat game where crashing into things brought you to a screeching halt - or turning around required far more time... or enough speed to do an e-brake spin? That's like complaining that the jump heights in Street Fighter are unrealistically high. Lame.

Also, I love that after Jaffe himself calls out the reviewer's comments, he retroactively deleted them. Integrity plus!

I lost all respect for this site over this. Its the best on line game and i played them all.I think its like street fighter all the cars are good and thats what makes this game awesome. This guy either picked it up for a few hours and sucked at it or is a total ps3 hater. I really think its a bit of both..!

The complaints about controls/"pinball physics" are absolutely stupid.

What were you REALLY expecting? Forza? Because Forza is about going down a corridor and trying to get down the corridor faster than everyone else. Twisted Metal is about fighting it out in a three-dimensional arena to blow the crap out of stuff. Being able to spin every when not driving makes PERFECT sense to the gameplay.

If you think realism is more important than balanced, flowing gameplay, go play something boring and never experience a good game because of your narrow-mindedness.

I played the demo and just wasn't impressed, a few obvious flaws were pointed out in the review and I applaud the reviewer for being honest despite the fact that buthurt Sony fanboys would be throwing a fit. I found the controls to be real mess and the graphics to be substandard and that was enought for me to move on to another game. And yes I absolutely believe that graphics are important in video games, right along with gameplay!!!

A review is somebody's opinion and nothing more, if it's not your opinion fine but that doesn't mean the reviewer is being dishonest just because they don't agree with you.

David Jaffe's rant was a joke, on one hand he says there is nothing wrong with the review and then he quickly contradicts himself by saying the reviewer had an agenda and is trying to pick a fight.... So he did have a problem with the review didn't he.

I wanted to like this game but it's just not very impressive. Way to go G4 for the honest review!

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